Nicole Stracke and Christian Koch received a 8-member student delegation from the New Initiative for Middle East Peace (NIMEP), a student-run think-tank at the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University
Ms. Lina Chihabi Marketing Manager of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) in Abu Dhabi visited GRC where she met with Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf to discuss cooperation in the field of environment.
A delegation from the Pillars of Knowledge for Research & Studies (PKRS) visited the Gulf Research Center. PKRS is a Khartoum-based non-profit, independent organization established in 2009. PKRS focuses on international relations, as well as social, economic and religious issues relating to Sudan. Dr. Ahmed Hassan, General Manager, Mr. Kalem Moustafa, Executive Manager, and Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Sadek, Director of Political Program of PKRS met with Dr. Oskar Ziemelis and Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf from the GRC to explore synergies between the two institutions and study possibilities of cooperation.
Dr. Christian Koch, Director of International Studies, met with the Honorable Bob Rae, Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre in the Canadian House of Commons to discuss regional developments and issues. Mr. Rae was accompanied by Taher Mukbel, Foreign Affairs Advisor and Cindie-Eve.Bourassa-Braun of the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi.
Dr. Claudius Fischbach, Minister Counsellor of the Policy Planning Staff in the German Federal Foreign Office visited the GRC where he met with Dr. Christian Koch, Director of International Studies and Nicole Stracke of the Security and Terrorism Department. Dr. Fischbach came to GRC after attending the Manama Dialogue meeting and Bahrain to discuss Dubai’s economic development, the status of the GCC and concerns over Iran’s nuclear program.
A Delegation from the Directorate-General for External Relations of the European Commission visited the GRC for a broad discussion about the status of civil society organization in the GCC countries and their role in the development of GCC-EU relations. The delegation included Gilles Bertrand and Samira Tovar Badt from the European Commission in Brussels as well as Petr Dubovec of the European Union Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Their visit came in the context of increased institutional ties between the EU and the GCC with a further view of initiatives that can be sponsored to enhance those ties.
